My plan was to slice the sod in the shape of the stone, and then dig the soil underneath to make sure the stone was set flat; this way they were below the level of the grass and could be mowed over.

as it turns out, the soil underneath is very very gravelly. My impression is that the gravel driveway/turnaround area was deemed too large by the previous owners, who set sod on top. There must be a jillion tons of gravel around this house.

My new plan is to dig a uniform depth the length of the pathway and set the stones in topsoil. We want grass and such to grow between the stones.

My co-workers tell me i should save myself the trouble and concrete them in place... What do you think of this plan?